India, July 4 -- The annual Amarnath Yatra kicked off on Thursday with the first batch of 5,892 pilgrims setting off from the twin base camps in Baltal and Nunwan towards the 3880-metre-high cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas, which houses a naturally formed ice stalagmite, representing Lord Shiva, officials said. Amid robust security arrangements in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, officials, including Kashmir divisional commissioner Vijay Kumar Bidhuri flagged off the yatra at the first light of the day. The 38-day annual pilgrimage, which will end on August 9.P11
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Hindustan Times....